State Labour Inspectorate

The State Labour Inspectorate (SLI) is the direct management authority, which is subordinated to the Minister of Welfare. The legal status, function, tasks and the operational procedure of the SLI is defined in the State Labour Inspectorate Law adopted on 19 June 2008. The SLI is the only one state institution that carries out the implementation of the policy in the field of labour legal relations and occupational safety and health.

Attachments

State LabourInspectorate's mission is to achieve observation of legislation on labour legal relationsand occupational safety and health (OSH) in Latvia in order to be established and maintained a safe, healthy working environmentand proper labour legal relations, therebyreducingthe number of occupational patients and victims of the accidents at work.

SLI carries out activities in order the Latvian population should be socially and legally protected and could work in a safe working environment.

SLI is a modern professional institution which is organised on preventive measures and ensures well-functioning and transparent state supervision and control in area of labour legal relations and OSH issues .

supervise and control observance of the requirements of the regulatory enactments regarding labour legal relationships and OSH;

control how employers and employees mutually fulfil the obligations specified in employment contracts and collective labour agreements;

provide free consultations to employers and employees on labour legal relations and OSH;

promote the society awareness on labour legal relations and OSH;

promote social dialogue;

take measures to facilitate the prevention of differences of opinion between an employer and employees and, where appropriate, invite representatives of the employees;

analyse matters of labour legal relations and OSH in order to provide proposals regarding the improvement of regulatory enactments;

carry out the investigation of accidents at work and perform uniform registration;

participate in the investigation of cases of occupational disease in accordance with the procedures specified in regulatory enactments;

control work equipment at workplaces, the utilisation of personal and collective worker protection equipment, and utilisation of substances harmful and dangerous to health pursuant to the requirements of regulatory enactments;

provide information to the commission for the evaluation of institutions competent in the work safety issues of the Ministry of Welfare regarding activities of the institutions and specialists competent in work safety issues in the field of labour protection in the objects referred to in Section 4, Clause 2 of this Law and subject to the supervision and control of the Labour Inspectorate;

organise the establishment and ensure the operation of a National Focal Point for the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

One of main activities of the National Focal Point is development of the websitewww.osha.lv. Comprehensive information on OSH issues in Latvia is available at this website.

1. Officials of the Labour Inspectorate shall be the Director of the Labour Inspectorate, the Deputy Director of the Labour Inspectorate, inspectors at all levels and other State civil servants of the Labour Inspectorate who implement the function of the supervision and control and tasks specified in this Law.

Officials of the Labour Inspectorate have the right to:

·Upon presentation of a service identification document, at any time of day without prior notification or without receiving permission, also in the absence of the employer: visit and inspect persons and objects under their supervision and control, and

·check the work process, working environment and labour protection measures;

2. Carry out examination, control and investigation or to request the information necessary in order to verify that the requirements of regulatory enactments are observed, and for this purpose:

·to request accounting, registration and other documents, which are necessary in accordance with the regulatory enactments regarding employment legal relationships and labour protection, to verify that the documents conform to regulatory enactments, as well as to request copies and extracts of such documents,

·to take measurements of work environment factors, to photograph, make audio and video recordings, as well as take samples of materials and substances for analysis,

·to invite specialists for the performance of specific tasks, and

·to request that employers, employees and other persons present a personal identification document or a driving licence, or an employee’s certificate;

3. Invite employers, employees or other persons to appear at the Labour Inspectorate in order to obtain information from them regarding matters of employment legal relationships and labour protection, or to provide such persons with information, explanations and other kinds of assistance on such matters;

4. Organise meetings of employers, representatives of organisations of employers and employees and other persons in order to discuss matters of employment legal relationships and labour protection;

5. Be provided by employers with such support, commensurate to the specific nature and location of the object to be inspected, and nature and duration of the inspection to be performed, as is necessary for the Labour Inspectorate in order to perform the task thereof;

6. Take decisions regarding matters of employment legal relationships and labour protection, as well as to issue warnings and orders to employers in order to ensure the observance of the requirements of the regulatory enactments regulating employment legal relationships and labour protection;

7. Completely or partially suspend the activities of persons or objects subject to their supervision and control (hereinafter also – suspension of activities of a person or object);

8. Control the activities of institutions and specialists competent in work safety issues in the objects under their supervision and control;

9. Impose administrative fines on employers, as well as on other persons for the examination of administrative violations in accordance with the procedures prescribed;

10. Control whether employers perform efficient measures in order to ensure the fulfilment of orders of the Labour Inspectorate, and take into account the expressed warnings;

11. In accordance with the procedures specified in regulatory enactments, issue to law enforcement institutions materials regarding the violations of regulatory enactments in respect of employment legal relationships and labour protection; and

12. after complete or partial suspension of activities of a person or object:

·apply a lead seal or to seal up control and communication devices, which start the devices to be stopped or supply them with energy, as well as to draw up a deed of applying a lead seal,

·control whether a decision regarding suspension of activities of the person or object is executed.

An administrative deed issued by an official of the Labour Inspectorate or actual action thereof may be contested to the Director of the Labour Inspectorate. The administrative deed issued by the Director of the Labour Inspectorate or actual action thereof, as well as a decision regarding the contested administrative deed or actual action may be appealed to the court in accordance with the procedures specified in law.

Contesting or appeal of the administrative deed or actual action shall not suspend the execution thereof, except in cases when it is suspended with a decision of the person examining the submission or application.

Please note,that in accordance with the “Law on applications” we have the right not to review received application in the cases when sender has not indicated his/her name, family name, address, as well as the application is not signed.